What happened to Nicholi Rogatkin’s brain during infamous Rampage crash?

The video below shows footage of the reconstructed crash that Armourgel carried out at their lab.

A guided falling mass with a 30° impact wedge was used to test up to 10 m/s. A cantilevered mass was built to mimic the effect of a body mass, and an instrumented Hybrid III head form was attached to the body mass.

Armourgel analysed lots of video footage of Rogatkin’s crash and attempted to replicate it as accurately as possible.

Kali explain: “The crash data was used to create a controlled impact test that measured both linear and rotational acceleration. Angle and position were adjusted to emulate the Rampage crash exactly. The speed was derived from video footage and screenshot analysis.”

The results? A potential to reduce the probability of milt traumatic brain injuries (MTBI) from up to 60% down to 10% using an LDL equipped Kali Shiva helmet compared to a non-LDL Shiva.

Kali’s Low Density Layer

It’s a bit like the MIPS idea. But instead of slipping liner there are sections of gel padding placed throughout the inside of the helmet. It’s not just a patent-avoiding design. Kali’s LDL claims to result in lighter and – crucially – smaller helmets. The idea being that the smaller the helmet the lower the leverage forces will be on the brain.

In a nice bit of marketing that’s designed to promote Kali’s Low Density Layer (LDL) anti-concussion technology, the above video will have you wincing even though it’s only a crash test dummy’s head that’s been tweaked by a big ol’ metal weight.

Although this video is new out this week, it refers back to a crash that happened a couple of years ago. And the LDL tech that it’s bigging-up has also been a feature of certain Kali helmets since 2012 in some form or another.